AUbicycles wrote:In theory, at stage 14, Contador was 31 secs behind, then 8 seconds ahead (= 39 seconds) and now Schleck is 39 secs behind - does that mean that if the mechanical was discounted there would be two winners this year?

Straight from Schleck's mouth, after the TT...

I made no mistakesâ€¦ ah, well, I do regret that I dropped the chain the other day but still he would have won by two seconds and I canâ€™t go back on that.

Cheers,BrentonO

Lone Rider- I rode on the long, dark road... before I danced under the lights.

AUbicycles wrote:On Eurosport they started the TT coverage late however before going over to the live action they showed schlecks bike and (I think ProLogo) saddle with special anti-slip grips.

Before we really saw Contador slip off his saddle, Andy Schleck was as well. For Andy, the discomfort could be explained by the possible saddle sores from yesterdays stage in which he sent off the cameras while with the doctor. Still - very unusual to see this happening so much with the TT position and bike meant to be optimal.

The problem is they can't get the set up optimal within the UCI regs, specifically the nose of the saddle 5cm behind the bottom bracket. All the riders I saw were sitting on their perineum on the nose of the saddle which happens as they slide forward to develop power in an aero postion. Problem is it's not very comfortable perched there. If the saddle was allowed to be further forward the riders would be more comfortable and we would see less of this.

toolonglegs wrote:BTW..if it was a crossed chain from cross chaining...then that is pretty slack as I don't think skinny little Andy puts out masive watts...and he may rue the day not running a simple chain catcher may have lost him the tour.

Tough year for the Aussies - a collarbone (Adam Hansen) a broken arm (Simon Gerrans) and a fractured elbow (Cadel Evans) plus Robbie McEwen has his fall. Brento On the 39secs - I think Schleck may have gotten it wrong. Checking on the net - a few other blog authors have noticed this as well... Winner stands though.

Agree on the comments on Radioshack... at least the courtesy to ask in advance... or if it was important maybe it should have been the LiveShack RadioStrong team from the start - they could have been pushing this message the whole time.

arkle wrote:I don't get it. How did they know that Contador had won the Tour after the time trial competition but the riders were still racing in the stage that ended in Paris?

arkle

I haven't seen the stage yet, but the way it normally goes is that they have a very slow, relaxing parade type stage until they get to the Champs Elysee where the time is calculated (?), then they do 10 laps of racing around the Champs Elysee - Arc du Triomphe circuit, and may the best man win. Green jersey points are given out as normal at the end of the 10 laps, and a stage win is awarded, but no time gaps are given after the first 'finish line'

1. Australia gets its hopes up high for Evans2. At this point, I make a bet about buying you guys campy bora or reynolds wheelsets if Evans wins the tour3. Evans wears MJ4. Evans loses MJ5. At this point, I don't buy any of you any wheelsets6. Contador/Schleck wins the tour

arkle wrote:I don't get it. How did they know that Contador had won the Tour after the time trial competition but the riders were still racing in the stage that ended in Paris?

actually this is an easy trap to fall into. while most of the peloton was sipping champagne, Andy Schleck attacked Contador in one last effort to wrest the yellow jersey off him. luckily Contador was marking him though and pulled him back in

arkle wrote:I don't get it. How did they know that Contador had won the Tour after the time trial competition but the riders were still racing in the stage that ended in Paris?

arkle

I haven't seen the stage yet, but the way it normally goes is that they have a very slow, relaxing parade type stage until they get to the Champs Elysee where the time is calculated (?), then they do 10 laps of racing around the Champs Elysee - Arc du Triomphe circuit, and may the best man win. Green jersey points are given out as normal at the end of the 10 laps, and a stage win is awarded, but no time gaps are given after the first 'finish line'

OK so what if Schlek had broken away and crossed the first finish line a minute ahead of Contador? Or what would have happened if Contador had crashed and not finished the stage? Or a spectator who didn't want Contador to win had pushed a stick in his spokes?

arkle wrote:OK so what if Schlek had broken away and crossed the first finish line a minute ahead of Contador? Or what would have happened if Contador had crashed and not finished the stage? Or a spectator who didn't want Contador to win had pushed a stick in his spokes?

arkle

If Schleck tried to break away, a lot of hard men would have chased him down and given him a headbutt. If Contador crashed or otherwise got held up the Peloton would have stopped and waited for him. It is the way it is.

paul sherwen was talking about this last night. apparently someone once congratulated bernard thevenet (i think) on his win ahead of the last stage and eddy merckx responded - "what win?" merckx attacked on the last stage and was pulled in. i imagine there were a lot of p****d off riders in the peloton who had to chase.

Ahh I see, so it's a matter of tradition and honour that, even though you could technically win the tour on the last stage, in practice nobody tries to do so. Or do they? Why wouldn't they try to break away? If there can be breakaways on normal stages surely a team could manage a breakaway on the last stage? Would it be disrespectful? If I really wanted to win I'd be saying bugger the tradition, let's go! And Contador didn't stop for the slipped chain did he? So why would Schleck stop on the last stage.

arkle

Last edited by arkle on Mon Jul 26, 2010 11:54 am, edited 1 time in total.